I don't mind pursuing him at all. You suggested that he would make Parsons somewhat expendable. There is a major difference between those 2.
I actually am hoping we DO get him, and always respect your opinion because you post some insightful stuff. I just don't think that getting him makes Parsons remotely expendable. Parsons will get paid, and the Rockets will be the ones doing the paying.
Somewhat being the key word. IF Granger is viable once again, then the $10m Parsons contract need not eventuate, and we can use him to bring in a legit PG. IF Granger isn't viable, then no big deal! But if he regresses to his mean (or progresses!) as a 38% 3 point shooter who can score 15-20 points on his ear, then how does he not make Parsons expendable? (if only somewhat)
You might be right - but it feels like a 'Morey move' to me. I wonder if he had teed up Asik and DMo to Philly with us receiving Granger, on the assumption that a first round pick was secured from Indiana for Evan Turner (and passed on to us for Asik/Dmo), which we then flipped to Boston, with Lin and Parsons, for Rondo. Brooks for Hamilton was the classic 'insurance' move, where we solidify just in case the gambles don't work out. But Morey loves 'competition' and winning as a result of being in a position not to lose much. So if Granger takes a 1 year only deal (rest of this season), I'd be surprised if it is with the Rockets. If he comes here, I imagine it will be this year and next, giving Morey the flexibility to 'wait and see' how he plays (with Hamilton as insurance), and then he can play with the contract of Parsons as he sees fit. That is, he can either pay the man (assuming Granger/Parsons work well as combo forwards alongside Howard for 10-15 minutes per game) OR he can 'upgrade' the team by trading from a position of strength to upgrade a position of weakness. I'm probably wrong - but just seems to be the way the man operates. Only superstars get a 'pass mark' from him in terms of big contracts.
Chris Paul, Blake Griffin surrounded by shooters with a proven coach? I'm not sure if they are ahead of the Rockets but they are definitely in the same boat when it come to championship talk.
This is the Chris Paul who has never been past the 2nd round? At least our 2 stars have finals experience. I'd agree they're in the same conversation as the Rockets. Certainly a proven coach is a big plus, but proven players must also count for something? Howard and Harden have double the amount of playoff games when compared to Paul and Griffin. Oh, and our guys are both younger than their counterparts (Howard younger than Paul, Harden younger than Griffin).
That looks pretty ugly and hard to dispute, but in the Rockets defense, only one of those games was in 2014 and it was the closest one. Hopefully tonight we start to turn the tide against these teams, all of which proved to be match up nightmares the first times we've played them.
POR W 116-101 SAS W 112-106 SAS W 111-98 POR W 126-113 SAS W 97-90 I can also pick games at random and pretend like it's a valid point.
Granger is more of a 2. Parsons is not expendable at all. There's no 3 out there other than George, Durant, or Lebron that can replace Parsons on this team.
The Rockets will have the best two players on the floor tonight. Harden and Howard have picked up their play.